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December 22, 2003 - 13,655 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Actuarial Systems Corporation
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ASC - QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR THE PENSION INDUSTRY FOR OVER 20 YEARS ASC provides complete automation for the pension office, including: DC/401(k) and DB administration and valuation systems, sophisticated Compliance Testing, DV Direct Daily Valuation, Advanced Information Manager Database (AIM), and Single-Step Processing. All ASC Technical Support Members were experienced Pension Administrators or Actuaries before joining ASC -- and most have been with ASC for over 10 years.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Predicting the Future of Funds, Post-Scandal
Excerpt: "Alliance Capital not only agreed to pay a $250 million fine to settle accusations regarding improper trading, but it also said it would cut fees on its domestic open-end retail funds by 20 percent for the next five years. Henry H. McVey, an analyst at Morgan Stanley who follows asset managers, talked last week about the industry's prospects. Here are excerpts from the conversation: ..." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Fed Up With Mutual Funds? Here's An Alternative
Excerpt: "One option proving to be popular is the exchange-traded fund (ETF). This is a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds that tracks an index through computerized, or passive, management. ETFs are listed on the major stock exchanges and trade as if they were individual companies." (Christian Science Monitor)
Text of ERIC/American Benefits Council Amicus Brief on Damages Calculation in Cooper v. IBM
29 pages; click on 'Cooper v. IBM' link at bottom of target page. (Via ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC))
Text of Plan Participants' Brief on Damages Calculation in Cooper v. IBM Cash Balance Case (PDF)
14 pages; filed October 14, 2003. (Via ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC))
New Data Show Employee Ownership to Be Widespread
New data indicate that 23.3% of all employees working for for-profit companies report owning stock in their companies, while 14.4% hold stock options. The two categories are exclusive of one another, but other data indicate that almost all employees holding options also own company stock in other ways. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Worker-Owned Bakery Watches Business Rise
Excerpt: "Advocates and experts both say worker-owned businesses - in all their formations - are one way employees can have more control, say, and investment into their workplaces, a necessity in a transitioning job market." (Asheville [N.C.] Citizen-Times)
As Stock Market Rallies, Pension Deficits At Major U.S. Corporations Begin To Ease
Excerpt: "A rebound in stock prices is driving the improvement. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, up 22 percent this year, is poised to break a three-year losing streak in which it sank 40 percent and pushed the deficit of companies in the index to $225 billion at the end of 2002, according to Credit Suisse First Boston." (The Boston Globe)
2003 Roth IRA Distributions – Changes to Codes for Form 1099-R (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Just when the aromas of Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie were wafting through our kitchens, the IRS posted a new chart on its web site that contains reporting code changes for Roth IRA distributions – and the IRS wants these changes to be implemented for 2003 reporting!" (PenServ, Inc.)
UC Lobs Its Appeal Back To Court Over Venture Capital Disclosures by Pension Fund
Excerpt: "The University of California headed back to court last week, further delaying any resolution in a closely watched case that could forever change the relationship between private equity fund managers and public pension funds." (Hoover's Online)
Pension Funds Worried About Venture Capital Shutout
Excerpt: "In the last year, sunshine laws and freedom of information requests have put public funds at a disadvantage -- many are now required to disclose financial data on venture funds that previously was held in strict confidence. That has prompted some VCs to look elsewhere for money in the next fundraising round ..." (Reuters via Lycos News)
New York City Pension Fund Trustees Win As CSX Changes Policy on G*ys
Excerpt: "A campaign by New York City's public employee pension funds to bar discrimination against g*ys and l*sbians at big U.S. companies has won its first skirmish. Newsday has learned that CSX Corp., the giant railroad and freight-hauling company, has agreed to prohibit discrimination against those employees." (Newsday)
IRS Publishes Employee Plan News, Winter 2003 Edition (PDF)
20 pages. (Internal Revenue Service)
To Vest or Not to Vest? Partial Termination in Today's Economic Environment (PDF)
At pp. 3-5 of 12-page document. (Jenkens & Gilchrist)
Overview: GUST and 401(a)(9) Deadline Extended for Pre-Approved Plans (PDF)
At pp. 1 and 2 of 12-page document. (Jenkens & Gilchrist)
What is a 'Pension Equity Plan'?
Excerpt: "To meet the needs of workers who hold a number of jobs throughout their lives, employers continue to seek new kinds of retirement income plans; pension equity plans, like cash balance plans, let employees know the lump-sum value of their pension while they are still working." (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Simulating Distributional Consequences of Personal Accounts: Sensitivity to Annuitization Options (PDF)
42 pages; working paper. Excerpt: "An important issue related to [proposed personal retirement accounts to supplement or replace the current Social Security system] is whether they will redistribute income and how any redistribution compares to that under the current Social Security system. The answer depends in part on how personal accounts are disbursed upon retirement. In particular, it depends on how mandatory annuitization would impact different groups ..." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Some Year-End Benefits Reminders (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "As year end approaches, we wanted to remind our clients and friends of a few upcoming deadlines and highlight a few actions you may want to consider for early next year." (Gardner Carton & Douglas)
Canadian Court Says Retroactive Benefits Should Be Paid To Partners of Deceased G*y Employees
Excerpt: "An Ontario court has ruled that the Canadian government discriminated against same-sex couples by denying pension benefits to survivors whose partners died before 1998. Benefits will now be retroactive to April 17, 1985 ..." (AP via SFGate.com)
Opinion: Las Vegas as a Workers' Paradise
Excerpt: "The hotel workers' union boosted wages and transformed dead-end jobs into middle-class careers in the very belly of the casino economy. Here's how it happened." (The American Prospect)
Opinion: the Ownership Society
Excerpt: "[President Bush] is talking about what he calls the Ownership Society. This is a bundle of proposals that treat workers as self-reliant pioneers who rise through several employers and careers. To thrive, these pioneers need survival tools. They need to own their own capital reserves, their own retraining programs, their own pensions and their own health insurance." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Treasury Issues Guidance To Encourage Use Of New Innovative Health Savings Accounts (“HSAs”)
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
2004 Supplement to Governmental Plans Answer Book Now Available
(Calhoun Law Group, P.C.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Benefit/Defined Contribution Account Manager
for National Retirement Services, Inc.
in CA, NC
Actuarial Analyst
for Pittsburgh Retirement Benefits Firm
in PA
Business Development Officer
for U.S. Bank
in OR
Relationship Manager/Sales Officer
for Heartland Financial USA, Inc.
in IA
Retirement Plan Regional Pension Service Coordinator
for Standard Insurance Company
in CO
401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for 401(k) Advisors
in CA
401(k) Enroller with Bi-Lingual Spanish Speaking Skills
for 401(k) Advisors
in CA
Regional Vice President - Retail Sales
for BISYS Retirement Services
in IL
401(k) Sr Plan Specialist
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
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